Writing sometimes feels like dancing. Turning and twisting until you learn the steps, and just when you get comfortable in the routine you decide to do a few freestyle moves. As it turns out, I tend to write in two different poetic voices. It’s an interesting feat, something I’d like to compare to taking turns on the floor with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Or maybe doing a classic little waltz with William Blake himself. I wouldn’t say I’m as graceful as him, but I can follow the pattern well enough because I too find equal amounts of romance and horror in this human existence.Read More →

  Hi all! My name is Cara Blanco, and I’m the lucky duck interning with the Ventura County Poetry Project this Spring. I was asked to write a small introduction, ergo this is a peephole into who I am. So, again, hi, my name is Cara. I’m a college student, daughter, sister, lover, tutor, reader, and—on my best (and worst) days—writer. I enjoy grocery shopping, ice cream, the way the scent of an orange lingers on your hands long after you’ve peeled it, and the color blue in most of its shades. Some of my hobbies include binge-watching shows and movies, going for walks, attendingRead More →

Hello! I’m Beta Drews, an intern at Ventura County Poetry Project. I’m a sophomore at CSUCI; majoring in English, Creative Writing and minoring in Art. Some hobbies of mine include drawing, painting, TTRPGS, video games, and most of all, writing. I like writing short stories, longer stores, and, of course, poems! I like reading and writing a wide variety of poems, but some favorites include haiku sonnets, epics, couplets, and free verse.  I have a lot of plans for my time interning here. One of my passions is getting more people to be creative as a hobby, it’s important to express yourself and I believeRead More →

Thank you to Marsha, Phil, and to everyone who was involved with the project for putting this all together. Thanks to these amazing poets and storytellers, “Dear America: Telling the World We Lived,” can spread history and life lessons to a younger generation. I don’t think we’ll ever recover from the pandemic but sharing our stories and poems will help our experiences last forever. Today I am sharing the stories and poems of Eileen Fiori, Marcy Wingard, and Jerry Garcia.  Eileen has always had a thirst for knowledge. After taking courses on women’s studies in mid-life; Eileen realized that she did not want to followRead More →

One morning, Gerald Zwers stood in his driveway. He took 100 mindful steps and ended up in front of a neighbor’s house. Looking left was “a great wall of green,” the hedge of a neighbor, and to his right, Zwers saw an intersection full of life and his own shadow stretching across it. “My immense, long shadow across the intersection,” he said, “That’s life. We have no idea how far we stretch.” Zwers has been stretching himself as an artist and an organizer of art shows for decades. A prolific painter, Zwers is hoping to augment visual art through collaboration with poets. Ekphrastic poetry isRead More →